Weevils And Other Daemons
by possiblycrazee
Summary: A bizarre event, in other words, a normal day for the Torchwood team, forces Owen to come out about his private life. Not slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Weevils And Other Daemons**

**Author: Hawkeye/Katy**

**Betas: Nox/BJ, Onigami/Lorne and Alex/Odysseus**

**Fandoms: Torchwood, Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'**

**Rating: FRT**

**Disclaimers: If I owned either franchise I would not owe the Australian Government $12,000 in HECS debt.**

**Warnings: Supernatural themes. Some violence. Some language.**

**Summary: A bizarre event, in other words, a normal day for the Torchwood team, forces Owen to come out about his private life.**

**Author's Note: I stole the concept of 'daemons' from Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy, which is an excellent series, I highly recommend it. But, for those of you not familiar with it and the concept of 'daemons', this site should give you a bit more information.**

**http://en. day Doctor Owen Harper thanked every God in creation, every deity in every universe, every multiverse, that Jack was the way he was. Obviously, he wouldn't wish the whole not-dying thing on anyone. That was just… no. But, because the geezer couldn't die, Tosh had to reconfigure the computers and security systems in the Hub. Set them up so they allowed both humans and the close-enough-to-human that was Captain Jack Harkness. It also meant that he slid through the systems undetected. Well, he amended, sliding one hand into the pocket of his jacket, they got through undetected.**

"Ianto," he nodded to the Welshman as he moved into the tourist bureau that fronted their base.

He received a small smile in return, "Owen," Ianto lilted back to him, pressing the button that allowed him – them – access into the Hub.

Owen moved into the Hub, tossing his stuff down onto his desk and booting up his computer, drifting as he waited for it. Helbreda was the other part of the aforementioned 'they'. A small, white, pink-nosed ferret with a stripe of grey down her back and little black feet.

Hellraiser, her name sounded like. Hell or Helly, Owen called her. Miserable bastard, she called him, amongst other things. And Owen was a miserable bastard sometimes, he knew it. Helbreda told him, quite often. But, perversely, unlike most daemon-bound people, Owen felt the need to question, to prod, to poke. So, more often than not, he ignored Helbreda's soft-voiced advice, quiet from his pocket at work, or out in public, or curled around his neck at home.

Most daemon-bound people, people like him, people with soul-deep connections to an animal spirit – and didn't that sound poncy – were exorbitantly proud of their daemons. Showed them off. If they were small, like Helbreda, then they kept them in their arms or on their shoulders. If they were too large to be held, like his father's leopard daemon, then they kept them close to their sides, a hand always resting, always touching.

That's what he'd always been led to believe, anyway. He'd been more than a little stunned when his mother had rounded on him the day after his father left and demanded that he never show 'that filthy creature' off in front of her again. His mother knew that she couldn't make him give Helbreda up without killing him, so she made him hide her, made Helbreda a shameful thing. His mother wasn't daemon-bound, could you tell? Then as soon as he was old enough, they left and never looked back.

Owen was still lost in thought, absently scowling at his screensaver, when a soft nudge in his ribs from inside his jacket brought his attention back to the Hub. He blinked, letting out a startled noise as a coffee mug suddenly appeared in his field of vision. He felt, rather than heard, Helbreda chuckle against his ribs and resisted the urge to throw a sarcastic comment her way. Instead, he turned his scowl up to Ianto, standing over him, face calm, holding the coffee mug.

"Bloody hell, d'you walk 'round 'ere in socks or something? Get your jollies outta sneakin' up on people?" he took the mug from Ianto's hand, sighing softly as the smell of the coffee hit his nose.

The calm on Ianto's face never faltered, even as he shifted his weight and showed Owen his black leather shoes, "My shoes and socks have nothing to do with my jollies, Owen," he deadpanned, "Enjoy your coffee."

As the Welshman walked away, Owen muttered, "Bloody teaboy."

No-one but Owen heard the soft voice that said, "If the 'bloody teaboy' knew how much time you spent watchin' his arse…"

"Shut it, you," Owen mumbled, swivelling in his chair as he took a sip of coffee, sighing with delight, and opening up the files on his computer.

Since starting at Torchwood, Owen had had a fair few mishaps. A fair few times that he could think of, where he should have followed Helbreda's advice, but didn't. There was the incident with the pheromone spray. Helbreda had told him…

'Leave it be, Owen, nothing good can come of that…'

… but he had ignored her, and taken it anyway. Then they had found the Ghost Machine. He had watched Lizzie Lewis get raped and murdered under that bridge. And Owen had been horrified. His hands had shook; tears had spilled down his cheeks. Tears of sorrow for Lizzie, but also tears of shame for himself. Nothing had happened that night he'd taken the pheromone spray, but, oh, it could have…

'It's over, Owen, let it go. Guilt only hurts us both…'

Dianne Holmes. The only woman he thought he could ever have loved. More like him than he could ever have dreamed. She'd left… run away with the changing wind. Owen thought he could've spent the rest of his life with her. That scared him. Really scared him…

'It scared me too, Owen. I thought we would drift apart…'

Then in the cage… facing down the weevil… that solitary moment… No. Fear. He'd told Jack that he hadn't wanted saving. And he hadn't. For one brief moment, he hadn't. It wasn't until he'd registered Helbreda's startled whimpers and horrified cries…

'Owen! Owen! Owen! Stop this… We need to get out!'

But not even Helbreda, with her almost uncanny sense of impending danger, saw it coming that day. The little ferret had no real wish to be squashed into his jacket pocket with Owen's torch. And Owen had no real wish to explain to the rest of the team why he was struggling to carry both his torch and his kit, when he had supposedly free pockets. So he'd placed Helbreda into a satchel that rested across his back, her warm weight resting between his shoulder blades. Close, but not close enough for either of their likings.

"What's in the handbag, Owen?" Gwen's teasing voice floated across to him.

Owen resisted the urge to sigh, wanting nothing more than to reach up and press his hand against the satchel, "Nothin' which concerns you, PC Cooper," he returned.

Helbreda murmured from the bag, "I really hope she was good in bed, Owen… coz she's a right cow…"

Owen was really glad Gwen was behind him as he blanched, "Ta, Helly, but if there's one thing I don't need… it's a runnin' commentary on my sex life from a bloody ferret!"

He endured the good natured teasing about the satchel. Any other time he would've given up long ago and flung the satchel at the nearest person. He felt Helbreda shiver against his back. But not this time. Not when they weren't close enough. It made him uneasy. Made them both uneasy.

That's why he was uncharacteristically quiet in the face of the ribbing. He missed the concerned looks the rest of Torchwood Three shot each other as they walked towards the most recent weevil sighting. He was too tense, too on edge, to notice the quiet words between Jack and Ianto, didn't see the Welshman nod and move around to Owen's other side. Owen almost started when Tosh's voice called out suddenly.

"This is it! This is the last known location."

Gwen looked around her, "Well… they aren't here now. Maybe they've moved on."

Owen bit back a snicker as Helbreda murmured from the satchel, "Hey… clever one, that one… Weevils aren't here, so they musta moved on… brain-boggling conclusion there."

Jack nodded, "We'll stick together this time… Tosh's scans reported at least three weevils. Tosh?"

Tosh looked up from her PDA, "The forest is probably our best bet," she nodded towards a grove of trees up ahead.

As they headed for the trees, Helbreda kept a running dialogue against Owen's back, "Splendid idea! Absolutely grand! Let's pack up our gear and toddle off into the forest where there may or may not be a pack of bloodthirsty weevils. Lovely!" Owen agreed with her.

Despite Helbreda's misgivings, Owen's constant watchfulness and the daemon-bound pair's uneasiness, the weevil attack still caught them by surprise. Owen started as Jack yelled a warning before hurling himself to the ground as a weevil roared and ran past him. Jack rolled back to his feet, gun out and firing. Owen dropped his kit and, keeping his back to a tree, protecting Helbreda, drew his gun and started firing too.

So focused was he on keeping his back to the tree and his gun up and firing at the weevil in front of him, that he nearly failed to notice the weevil to his left. Only a swipe of Helbreda's clawed feet across his shoulder blades and a screeched warning that was lost in the chaos made him turn, still firing. One, two, three bullets thudded into the weevil's chest. Owen squeezed the trigger again. The gun clicked over.

"Oh shit..." Owen pulled the trigger two more times as if that would suddenly make bullets appear in the chamber, "Oh really shit..."

The weevil thundered into him. Owen went flying, landing heavily on his back, the air whooshing out of his lungs as he gasped. His eyes flew wide open and he sucked in a huge gulp of air and sat up, reaching behind him wildly. Helbreda. His hand scrabbled over his back. Nothing. No satchel. No Helbreda. Where was his daemon?

"Oh no..." Owen scrambled unsteadily to his feet, already feeling the pull of being too far away from his daemon, "No, no, no..."

Jack reloaded and kept firing into the weevil that had knocked Owen down; noticing that the satchel the team had ribbed Owen about was sitting not far away from the weevil's feet, "Get back to the SUV! Go!"

Ianto ignored his Captain completely and stayed, eyes wide with fear, but still firing and reloading, firing and reloading. Tosh fired her last two bullets, waited until her gun clicked over then turned and ran. Gwen did the same, but paused a few steps away, hesitating, and yelled something unintelligible back to Jack. Owen heard Jack swear and tell her to move her arse, normally he would have found that funny, but in his hazy mind, there was something more important. Helbreda was more important.

Ianto stared in shock, gun falling into silence, as Owen started to take slow, shaky steps. But Owen's walking abilities were not what had the Welshman stunned. No. Ianto blinked in stunned horror as he watched Owen walk back towards the weevil, a look of foggy determination plastered onto his face.

"Sir..." he said, aiming his gun at the weevils in Owen's path, "Jack!"

Jack glanced over, "What in the hell is he doing?!"

Ianto took a step closer, firing at the weevil near Owen, "Owen! Are you mad?!"

Owen blinked owlishly at him and called something unintelligible back. Ianto shook his head, still firing. Owen kept walking and yelled back to him again, this time pointing at the satchel. Jack swore.

"He's going after the damn handbag?!"

Ianto shrugged helplessly, "I don't know, sir. He has to be concussed or something..."

"Or something..." Jack agreed sourly as he ran towards Owen, firing at the weevil.

A few more steps. Owen kept his eyes fixed on the satchel in the dirt. Helbreda… Just a few more steps. Owen grunted as he someone crashed into him from the side, narrowly missing a swipe from the weevil's claws. He let out a groan as he hit the floor. His head bounced off the dirt. Owen groaned again, nausea from the concussion and the pull of being too far away from his daemon pressing down on his mind. He barely registered being hauled to his feet and half-carried away.

Away…

No!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Weevils And Other Daemons**

**Author: Hawkeye/Katy**

**Betas: Nox/BJ, Onigami/Lorne and Alex/Odysseus**

**Fandoms: Torchwood, Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'**

**Rating: FRT**

**Disclaimers: If I owned either franchise I would not owe the Australian Government $12,000 in HECS debt.**

**Warnings: Supernatural themes. Some violence. Some language.**

**Summary: A bizarre event, in other words, a normal day for the Torchwood team, forces Owen to come out about his private life.**

**Author's Note: I stole the concept of 'daemons' from Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy, which is an excellent series, I highly recommend it. But, for those of you not familiar with it and the concept of 'daemons', this site should give you a bit more information.**

**http://en. shiver ran through Owen. No, no, no… He couldn't go away… Not without Helbreda. Oh God… Owen struggled weakly, pushing back at the arms that held him. He staggered, trying to get his feet under him, still beating uselessly at his captor's arms.**

"Owen! Owen! Relax! Settle down, it's me!" Jack's voice in his ear did absolutely nothing to calm Owen's nerves, seeing as how the Captain was still walking backwards away from Helbreda.

Helbreda. It was as if the thought of her name brought Owen back to himself. He let out a strangled, wide-eyed gasp and threw himself forward against Jack's arms. Jack tightened his grip on Owen and kept struggling towards the SUV. He felt Owen shudder against his chest and frowned as his knees buckled slightly.

Owen bit down on a groan. Too far away. Too far… it was starting to hurt… it pulled… it hurt… He threw himself against Jack's iron hold again. Pain set fire to his nerve endings. An ache settled in his chest and spread, throbbing out over his heart and up to his head. His knees buckled again and this time, instead of shoving at Jack's iron grip, he fell on it, his weight slipping bonelessly back into the Captain's arms.

Jack blinked down at the shivering form of his team mate before hauling him up in his arms and manhandling him further away, "Come on, Owen, only a little further to the SUV."

Owen didn't bother to hold back the moan of pain at that thought and the few steps that took him even further away from his daemon, "No!" the scream was ripped from him, "Please, God… Jack… no, no, no…"

Jack stopped as Owen writhed in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks. He stared at him in shock. What in the hell?! He glanced over his shoulder at the SUV, only a few feet away, he'd be more comfortable there. Jack hefted Owen into his arms again, flinching at the sharp scream that brought. He all but ran the last few steps to the SUV, nearly dropping the doctor as Owen howled, back arching and fresh tears streaming down his face.

Jack gave up on the SUV, instead laying Owen down on the ground and looking helpless as his only medic writhed in delirious pain. Owen's hands stretched back the way they had just come, reaching towards something unseen in an exercise in futility. He sobbed, tears mixing with the dirt under his head, creating muddy tracks down his face.

Ianto dropped to his knees on the other side of Owen, having come running as soon as he'd heard Owen scream. Gwen and Tosh came out of the SUV, running over and kneeling down beside their captain and fallen team mate. Both looked a mixture of concerned and confused. Exactly the way Jack felt.

Gwen reached out a hand to him, hesitantly, "What the bloody hell is goin' on, Jack?"

Tosh looked like she didn't know what to do or where to go, "What did this to him?"

Jack growled, frustrated, "I don't know! And he's the only one who would!"

Owen screamed again, voice hitching off hoarsely halfway through. His sobs sounded harsh now, his throat raw from the screams and yells. The pain was too much… it was too hard… His hands spasmed, fingers curling into the dirt, stones and twigs cutting into his fingers, as they twitched, trying to reach out to his daemon. He was too far away… Helbreda was too far away… Owen groaned, the harsh sound of pain rising into a hoarse shriek of agony.

Owen twitched, clenching his hand around the cool stones against his palm. It wasn't Helbreda… he needed Helbreda! It was too much. He couldn't… she wasn't there… A violent shudder ran through Owen's frame. Another groan burst from him. He shuddered again, fighting the grey that had started to seep into his vision. Would he make it out of this? Would they make it out of this? A choked sob curled up his throat as he remembered all the times he'd ignored Helbreda, told her to be quiet. He sent up a silent apology to her as the grey clouded more and more of his vision.

Ianto cringed, "It's like his soul is being ripped from him…" the Welshman reached out a hand and curled it around one of Owen's, stopping him from cutting up his fingers any more.

Jack's eyes widened slightly and his head snapped up to look at Ianto, "What did you just say?"

Ianto almost recoiled from the intense look in Jack's eyes, "I… I said it's like his soul is being ripped from him, sir…"

Jack abruptly turned back to Owen, gripping his head in both hands, "Owen! Owen, I need you to listen… Owen!" Jack swore as Owen abruptly went still, hand going limp in Ianto's, "Shit! Goddamnit, shit!"

Gwen spoke up from her position next to Tosh, "What is it, Jack? What is going on?"

Jack ignored her for a moment, "The handbag! The damn handbag! Gwen! Go get that handbag Owen was carrying! It's over there by the tree line."

"What?" Gwen looked obstinate, ready to argue, "Jack, what is going on?! What will that bloody handbag do?"

"Gwen! Just get the…" Jack snarled, but Ianto was already off and running, "For fuck's sake, nevermind."

Ianto scooped up the bag, jerking slightly as he felt it move sluggishly under his hands. He turned and ran back towards Jack and the others, bag clutched to his chest. Ianto cradled the bag, slowing to a walk as he came within a few steps of the team. He dropped to his knees next to Owen, placing the bag gently on the floor.

The Welshman turned his face up to Jack, "What now? What's going on, sir…?"

Jack reached out a hand then stopped, "Ianto. Open the bag…"

Gwen grabbed Ianto's shoulder, "Jack! There could be anything in there!"

Ianto shrugged her hand off and reached for the bag. Undoing the clasp at the front he flipped the satchel open. Ianto blinked in shock at the weakly struggling ferret that lay curled, whimpering in the bottom of the satchel. He frowned, pity filling his heart as he watched the poor creature.

Startling them all, Owen, too, whimpered and stirred. Ianto's eyes swung from Owen to the ferret and back again. He frowned, utterly confused. The ferret? What was the connection with the ferret? Ianto didn't know, and at the moment, he didn't care. It was helping Owen.

Placing his hands into the bag, and ignoring Jack's startled yell, Ianto scooped the ferret into his hands. He held it close for a moment, cooing softly to it until it calmed, then placed it on Owen's chest. Owen moaned softly, one hand moving listlessly up to curl around the ferret. Ianto turned to look defiantly at Jack.

Jack was wincing and shaking his head, "He won't thank you for that, Ianto."

Ianto looked down at Owen, who was breathing easier, colour returning to his cheeks, "It seems to have helped them both, sir."

Jack nodded, conceding the point, "Yeah, proximity will help, touch is better. But he won't thank you for touching the ferret."

Gwen cut in, obviously frustrated that her questions weren't being answered, "What is going on? Why will a bloody ferret help Owen?"

Tosh gasped as realisation dawned, "Daemons. Owen's daemon-bound. That's what this is, isn't it, Jack?"

Jack nodded, "Looks that way… certainly explains a helluva lot."

Tosh cut in again as Gwen opened her mouth to ask another question, "People who are daemon-bound, like Owen, have a soul-connection to an animal. These animals, daemons, are sentient, they talk, but only to those they're connected to. Daemon-bound people can't go more than around fifteen feet from their daemons without it…" Tosh trailed off, eyes widening slightly.

Gwen looked at her, concern on her face, "Without it, what?"

Tosh looked back at her, "Without it causing them extreme pain."

Ianto looked down at Owen, the medic's hand still curled around the ferret's body, "Is that what happened to him? He was too far away..." his eyes widened, "And then we took him further away..."

Jack nodded, shaking his head slightly, "I'm gonna have to grovel for that one."

Gwen spoke up, "Well, now that he has his... daemon... why not get him back to the Hub? He'll be more comfortable than in the dirt and we won't have to explain to any campers why we have a half dead man with a ferret on his head."

Jack snorted, then nodded, carefully scooping Owen up, making certain that he in no way made contact with the ferret still curled on Owen's chest. Ianto went ahead, opening the back door of the SUV and climbing in, allowing Jack to slide Owen across the back seat, resting the medic's head on Ianto's lap. Gwen took Owen's normal place in the front seat, while Tosh squeezed into the back with the equipment.

The drive back to the Hub was almost silent, only broken by Owen's occasional groan and the sporadic snuffle from the ferret on his chest. The team hurried Owen through the tourist bureau and down into the main Hub, moving quickly til they got to the med bay. Jack placed Owen gently on the autopsy table, the only medical bed they had in the Hub. Then the team stood back, taking up various positions around the room, and waited.

Owen groaned, swimming back up through the grey fog that covered his eyes. He blinked, then winced as the fluorescent lights above the autopsy table shone directly in his eyes. Wait... autopsy table? He sat up quickly, hearing a chorus of startled gasps and curses. Owen froze, his brain suddenly registering that he wasn't in pain. It didn't hurt anymore. And that meant...

He looked down, "Helbreda," he murmured, a relieved smile crossing his face as he pulled the ferret close up under his chin.

The team watched, as Owen sat up suddenly, looked around wildly for a moment, then turned his head down, all his attention suddenly on the ferret now in his lap. They watched, slightly confused, and a little amused, as Owen smiled and pulled the ferret up under his chin, murmuring softly to it. The normally sarcastic medic looked almost cute.

Owen looked up, finally catching sight of the team standing around him, "What?" he said, breaking into his normal half-cheeky, half-filthy smile, "Haven't you ever seen a man play with his ferret before?"

He received a swipe of tiny, clawed feet across the shoulder from Helbreda for that remark. The team collectively rolled their eyes, Jack snorting a laugh as he did so. Owen carefully swung his feet round so they were hanging off the table, and he was facing the team, Helbreda still tucked up under his chin. He threw a bland look at Gwen and Tosh, who were obviously barely resisting the urge to coo and giggle at him.

Owen turned his gaze back to Jack, "I guess I have some explainin' to do then?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Weevils And Other Daemons**

**Author: Hawkeye/Katy**

**Betas: Nox/BJ, Onigami/Lorne and Alex/Odysseus**

**Fandoms: Torchwood, Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'**

**Rating: FRT**

**Disclaimers: If I owned either franchise I would not owe the Australian Government $12,000 in HECS debt.**

**Warnings: Supernatural themes. Some violence. Some language.**

**Summary: A bizarre event, in other words, a normal day for the Torchwood team, forces Owen to come out about his private life.**

**Author's Note: I stole the concept of 'daemons' from Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy, which is an excellent series, I highly recommend it. But, for those of you not familiar with it and the concept of 'daemons', this site should give you a bit more information.**

**http://en. nodded slowly, "Not before I apologise though," he said, leaning against the wall.**

Owen frowned slightly, memories of pain and forests and iron-strong arms around him filtering into his consciousness, "You…" his eyes widened, "You separated us."

Jack winced, "Yeah. But, in my defence, we didn't know you were daemon-bound in the first place."

Owen nodded, "Touché," his hands still curled protectively around the ferret's body, however.

Gwen half-raised her hand, "Can I ask something? I mean, you lot seem to know an awful lot about this… Does it make Owen an alien?"

The team snorted with laughter as Owen shot her a dirty look, "No, Gwen, it doesn't make me an alien. It just makes me like himself over there," he tilted his head at Jack, "Human-but-not-quite."

The team watched as a frown creased Owen's brow and he glanced down at the ferret, murmuring, "What?" there was a pause, "Well, no… but…" he sighed, flicking his gaze back up to the team, then back down to the ferret, "I am so whipped," he muttered.

He turned back to the bemused looking team, "This," he said, holding the ferret up by his ear, "Is Helbreda, my daemon."

Gwen reached out a hand to pat her, "She's cute, Owen," but blinked in shock as Owen practically recoiled, yanking the daemon out of Gwen's reach.

"Do… not… touch… my… daemon…" he said, giving Gwen a dirty look as Helbreda wound herself around Owen's neck.

Ianto blanched.

Gwen and Tosh both turned to stare, wide-eyed, at the pale Ianto, who stood, head bowed and shoulders hunched. Jack shook his head and looked out at the ceiling of the Hub, watching Myfanwy circle lazily around the room. Owen looked between them all, eyeing each one warily.

"What?" he said cautiously.

Ianto finally looked up, "In the forest… Owen, I didn't know…"

Owen paled slightly, "You… touched her…?"

Ianto nodded, cringing, "I took her out of the bag and put her on your chest when you were hurt."

Owen blanched a little at the thought of someone else touching his daemon, "It's… ah bollocks…" he took a breath, turning to face the little ferret for a moment, obviously listening, before nodding, "I suppose, in that circumstance… it's alright. Just… really… don't do it again."

Tosh looked at him curiously, "Why is it so bad? Having someone other than you touch… Helbreda, was it?"

Owen frowned, thinking about that, "I… it's like…" he turned to Helbreda, "Little help?"

Helbreda's furry head cocked sharply to the side, "Well, we are the same and not the same… one but two…"

Owen raised an eyebrow at her, "See… I understand that perfectly," he nodded to the team, "But them?"

Helbreda shrugged, the gesture odd on a ferret, "You try and explain it then."

The team watched the one-sided, to them anyway, conversation with mixed feelings of amusement, curiosity and confusion. They watched as Owen sighed and finally turned back to Tosh, who was still waiting for an answer.

"Okay…" he said, scratching the back of his head, then moving down to Helbreda's ears, "A daemon is like part of your soul. That's why the bond between daemon-bound people and their daemons is so close," Owen shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed, "You wouldn't want just anyone walkin' up and pattin' your soul, now would you?"

Tosh nodded, accepting the explanation. Owen glanced around at the rest of Torchwood Three. They seemed to be fairly accepting of this... them... his daemon. Jack was grinning at him. Owen belatedly realised that he was still nuzzling Helbreda's ears. Gwen still looked slightly confused. No change there. Ianto still looked guilty. Owen's mouth twisted a little.

He shifted off the table, "I'm bloody starving," he announced, seemingly apropos of nothing.

Ianto's head came up, "I'll go fetch us some dinner, shall I?" he asked, glad to be doing something once again, "Chinese alright with everyone?"

As everyone else was talking to Ianto, giving their orders, and the Welshman was grabbing his coat and trying to remember it all at the same time, Owen turned his head and met Jack's eyes. Jack quirked his mouth at him and gave him a small nod. Owen shrugged and nodded back. The teaboy felt guilty. If keeping himself busy helped Ianto get over that, then who was he to stop him?

The team was sitting around the only table big enough to hold all of them in the Hub when Ianto came back with the Chinese. The Welshman moved around the table, handing out everyone's orders, before finally sitting down in the last available seat, between Tosh and Jack. The team ate relatively quietly for a while, the only sounds the occasional request to pass the chilli sauce or the prawn crackers. Then, without warning, but with a musing look on her face, Gwen turned to Owen.

"So... what would my daemon be then?"

Owen almost spat out his food when Helbreda whispered in his ear, "A sheep. Bloody sheepshaggers, the Welsh are... whole bloody lot of them!"

"Shh..." he hissed at her, before turning back to Gwen, "How am I supposed to know?"

Gwen looked a little confused at his half-conversation, but answered anyway, "Well, I just thought... since, you know..." she trailed off.

"Changed my mind..." Helbreda went on in his ear, "Chicken daemon, definitely. Like from the movie 'Chicken Run'? Remember?" Owen couldn't hold back the snort of laughter as Helbreda continued, "You know the one, 'Oh... me whole life flashed before me eyes... an' it were really borin'...'"

Gwen looked even more confused as Owen suddenly snorted with laughter, "Owen?"

Owen waved a hand at her, "Sorry, sorry..." he was obviously still trying not to laugh.

Jack raised an eyebrow at the one-sided conversation, wishing quite suddenly, and with an almost overwhelming ache of sadness, that he too was daemon-bound. Sure, it would've complicated things a little, given him a few new ways to die, but at least he wouldn't have to go through this horribly long life completely alone. He was brought out of his musing by another snicker from Owen. He tilted his head slightly. Honestly, how could he have not seen it before? He stayed quiet and watched the half conversation between Owen and his daemon confuse the hell out of the rest of his team.

Tosh raised an eyebrow at Owen, "Actually, I'd be quite curious to find out what kind of daemon I'd have..."

Owen glanced down at Helbreda and sighed, "We aren't going to get out of this are we?" when he received a round of headshakes, he continued, "Right, is there anyone who doesn't want to know?" receiving no answer he nodded, lips twitching, "Right then, Gwen, I'm sorry, but we'll have to come back to you."

Gwen pouted at that, looking suspiciously at Owen and Helbreda and wondering exactly what had gone on between the two to make them laugh at the thought of giving her a daemon. Then she stopped, frowning at herself as she realised that she had just been glaring at, and housing suspicions of, a ferret. She settled back into her chair as she watched Owen glance down at the little creature that had wound its way around his neck and up under his chin, darting black eyes looking around intelligently.

Helbreda looked directly at Tosh, making her squirm under the scrutiny, "Her. We'll do her first."

Owen glanced at where Helbreda was looking, "Her name is Tosh. Toshiko Sato. As well you know."

"So, sue me," Helbreda's head dipped down over Owen's shoulder, "A big cat maybe?"

"For Tosh? Nah... my dad had a leopard... trust me, Tosh has balls, but she doesn't have the toss-faced arrogance to pull off a big cat," Owen shook his head, "Maybe a bird?"

"That covers a lot, Owen. What kind? Not an eagle or a hawk. An owl? She seems the type..."

Owen nodded, "Yep. I reckon that's it, Helly..." he turned to Tosh, "We think your daemon would be an owl, a snowy owl, most likely."

The team blinked as Owen carried on half a conversation with the ferret on his shoulder and, without meaning to, it seemed, revealed more about his childhood than he ever had previously. A leopard daemon and an arrogant tosser of a father? Each and every member of the team filed that piece of information away for further use. Jack, Gwen and Ianto carried on watching Owen, each trying to work out their own daemons before the medic could do it for them. Tosh dipped her head as she heard her daemon being called. An owl.

As Tosh smiled and settled back in her chair to think on that, Owen and his daemon turned to Ianto, "Easy..." Helbreda murmured in his ear.

"I know," Owen returned, "Teaboy has beaver written all over him."

"Beaver?" Ianto asked incredulously.

Owen nodded, "Course... Slightly obsessive compulsive about order and cleanliness," he grinned at Ianto's bland look, "Quiet and unassuming," the grin faded a little, "Always around to hold back the floods."

Ianto looked a little taken aback at that, stunned into silence by the unexpected praise, prompting Jack to cut in teasingly, "Why Owen, I didn't know you cared…"

Owen cleared his throat and moved onto Jack, murmuring softly to Helbreda, "Not quite so easy..."

Helbreda muttered in his ear, "'Always around to hold back the floods…' You are such a bloody sap…"

Jack raised an eyebrow as a slight blush coloured Owen's cheeks and the medic shot a glare at Helbreda's furred nose, "Oh hush it and tell the Captain what his bloody daemon is!"

Helbreda swapped shoulders to get a better look at Jack, "He expects something regal and dignified..."

Owen snorted and they spoke as one, "Not bloody likely!"

They both sat and contemplated Jack for a moment, "Dog..." Owen said suddenly.

"Terrier..." Helbreda picked up his train of thought.

Owen nodded, "Cairn Terrier," he said decisively, feeling Helbreda nod against his neck.

Jack's eyebrows went up close to his hairline, "Cairn Terrier?" he clarified, "Not… I dunno… Yorkshire Terrier? Or Airedale Terrier? Definitely Cairn Terrier?"

Owen nodded slowly, a little confused by Jack's line of questioning, "One of those weird little ones that humps everything that moves..." Helbreda muttered in his ear.

Jack grinned, not his normal wide smile, but a soft nostalgic one, "I had one of those. It followed me everywhere. Ruthie, her name was. In the Second World War."

Helbreda looked at Jack for a moment, murmuring in Owen's ear, "There is a man who should have been born as we were," she said, uncharacteristically serious, before her voice lilted back up into its normal playful tones, "We still have one more. Constable Sheepshagger."

Owen snickered again, covering it with a hand, "Okay... that leaves PC Cooper."

"I still think chicken," Helbreda murmured, "Babs the Chicken... 'I don't want to be a pie... I don't like gravy...'"

"Helly!" Owen shushed her, trying not to crack up laughing yet again, "What about a butterfly?"

"A butterfly!" Gwen squawked indignantly.

"Or not..." they spoke as one.

Daemon and daemon-bound mused thoughtfully for a while, "Something earthy," Helbreda said after a while, "Although, I still dare you to say chicken."

"A hare?" Owen asked, ignoring the chicken comment.

Helbreda tilted her head at Gwen, "That works."

"A hare daemon for PC Cooper, then," Owen nodded to her.

Gwen smiled.

Leaving the team to ponder their potential daemons, Owen carried on eating, occasionally lifting a piece of plum pork up to Helbreda, who would eat it daintily and carefully lick her whiskers clean. It was such an odd thing for the team to watch, yet, somehow, so completely normal. Owen, in a gesture of chivalry that would never have passed over into his dealings with human females, held the last piece of plum pork up to his daemon. He waited until she'd finished eating and slowly wound her way down his arms and into his jacket pocket before standing up.

"Well, it's been grand, but after today... I want some sleep," he scooped up his kit and his car keys, pressed a hand over his jacket pocket, feeling for Helbreda, and headed for the door.

"Back in work tomorrow, though, Owen," Jack called out to him, "Bring the ferret."

Pulling into the tourist bureau's carpark the next morning, Owen snorted, "'Bring the ferret', he says," he looked down at Helbreda, curled around the gearstick, "Not like I have a choice now, is it Helly?"

"Not really," Helbreda lifted her head, baring her teeth at him in a yawn, "I would've stayed asleep otherwise."

Reflex had him holding out a hand so that Helbreda could climb delicately onto his palm then up into the crook of his elbow and into his jacket pocket. He climbed out of the car and wandered into the tourist bureau. He gave Ianto a smile, same as he had the day before. Ianto looked down at Owen's jacket pocket then back up at Owen, raising one eyebrow. Owen smiled wryly, glanced around the empty tourist bureau and nudged the pocket, holding one hand against it and giving a crooked smile as Helbreda climbed up his arm and wound around his neck. Ianto smiled back at him and handed him a mug of coffee as he walked through into the Hub.


End file.
